2

portion were inftantly facrificed to their fury, and the remainder fought fafety in flight*.

On the first tidings of thefe commotions, Nadir, firm and collected in every difficulty, had difpatched couriers on fleet horfes to his general in chief, Thamas Khan, who with the reft of the army, was encamped without the walls, with orders to commence his march, with 30,000 horfe, immediately for the capital; and the vanguard of that army shortly after arriving, foon routed with immenfe flaughter, the infuriated populace that furrounded and threatened to form the citadel. In a few hours after, the whole of this formidable body entered the city; and Nadir, thus re-inforced, at midnight marched out of the caftic at their head, to crufh the infurrection. Inflamed with high refentment against the faithlefs Delhians, but ignorant of the full extent and magnitude of the evil, he intrepidly led them on towards the great mofque of Rofhin al Dowlat, which stands in the center of the city, and there took his ftation. All was raging tumult and distraction around him, but he remained firm and unmoved, acting folely on the defenfive, and waiting for the break of dawn, to let loofe his vengeance on the devoted city. The morning, big with the fate of Delhi, at length arofe; and discovered to him heaps of his Perfian foldiers weltering in their blood. An awful, momentous paufe enfued; and during that paufe, a piftol was difcharged at him, from a neighbouring ter. race, the ball of which miffed himself, but killed an officer ftanding clofe at his fide. He immediately ordered a general maffacre to commence from that very fpot. His fquadrons of horfe, inftantly pouring through the streets, put every one, without diftinction, aged and young, women and children, to death. His foot foldiers at the fame time, mounting the walls and terraces, configned to the fame fate every foul they found upon them. The love of fpoil, and the thirft of blood, equally operating on thofe barbarians,-all the bazars of the jewellers, and the houfes of the rich citizens in that quarter, were first plundered, and then fet on fire. Fearful of the violation of their women, many of the higher rank of Indians collected together their females and their treafures; and, then fetting fire to their apartments, confumed them with themselves in one general conflagration. From the fame dread, thousands of women plunged headlong into tanks and wells. In every imaginable form of horror,

"DEATH ftalked at large

Through all the streets of that vaft capital,

And feem'd to REIGN UPON THE THRONE OF DELHI,

Frafer's Nadir Shah, p. 184.

"During

"During this dreadful carnage the king of Perfia continued in the mofque of Rofhin al Dowlat. His countenance is faid to have been dark and terrible, and that, during the paroxyfm of his rage, none but flaves dared to approach him. At length the unfortunate emperor of India, attended by the principal Omrahs, with forrowing looks, and eyes fixed on the ground, ventured to draw near and intercede for the half ruined city and furviving inhabitants. For a time he was obdurate; at length the fternness of his countenance relaxed, and, fheathing his fword, he faid, For the fake of the prince Mahommed, I forgive. The joyful tidings of his wrath appeafed were imme. diately, by found of trumpet, conveyed through the city, and the work of deftruction as inftantly ceafed. Between the iffuing of the bloody mandate at fun rife and two o'clock in the after. noon, 100,000 Delhians of all ages were inhumanly butchered. The tyrant then retired into the citadel; and enquiry being made into the origin of the tumult, feveral Indians of diftin guifhed rank were feized, as the fecret abettors of the infur rection, and their execution clofed the feene of defolation and carnage. The once beautiful city of Delhi, in the mean time, exhibited a moft difmal fpectacle, the great ftreets being filled with the ruins of fallen palaces and houfes confumed by the fire; and the smaller streets and paffages being abfolutely choaked up with the multitude of putrefying carcafes. To avoid the danger of peftilence, both Perfians and natives were for fome days cmployed in removing the bodies of the dead; thofe of the Indians were heaped up in vaft piles, and burned in the rubbish of the ruined houfes, and thofe of foreigners were buried promifcuously in pits, or thrown into the Jumna." P. 562.

It is gratifying to find that a great proportion of the treafures obtained at the price of fo much blood, was afterwards immerfed in the bed of the Indus, for, according to Khojeh Abdulkurreem, a nobleman of Cafhmire, in the train of Nader, who has written an account of this retreat, in paffing that rapid river, the bridge of boats which he had conftructed being broken by the violence of the current, many of the animals loaded with jewels and gold plate were ingulphed, and the treafure loft. A circumftance alfo at that time occurred, highly deferving of notice, because, as Mr. Maurice obferves,

"It marks the abfolute control of this great conqueror over the foldiers who fought under his banners, many of them perhaps not lefs avaricious or eager for diamonds than himself. Two jewels of inestimable value, that had adorned the turban of the Mogul, being miffing from the royal treafury, a fearch was or dered to be made for them among the baggage of the army. That fearch not being fuccefsful, Nadir iffued a decree, challenging all

Bb 4

precious

precious ftones whatever taken in the plunder of Hindoftan as his property, and ordering all the treasures of that kind, under penalty of death, to be brought into the treafury. But this was not fufficient: officers were placed at the ferry to examine all perfons before they paffed the river; and if any valuable jewels were discovered upon them, to feize and fend them to the royal repofitory. Upon the publication of this order fome of the foldiers came of themselves and delivered up the jewels they had got in plunder, and these were rewarded with dreffes and other prefents. From others were taken what they had concealed in the packs and faddles of their horfes, camels, or mules. Some buried their ftores in the ground, hoping that after the fearch was over they might be able to return and dig them up again; but from the ftrict orders of Nadir Shah, which were punctually obeyed, it was impoffible for any one to recrofs the river; and thus the treafure remained in the bowels of its parent earth. Others, out of rage and indignation, threw into the river whatever they had concealed *. P. 565.

"

The ftill more horrible cruelties inflicted on the fuffering Delhians during the invasion of Abdallah, the Afghan, cannot wholly be paffed over, as it is another degree in the dreadful fcale of mifery, which has eventually reduced that famed metropolis to what it is at this day, a heap of ruins. It took place in A.D. 1759; juft twenty years after Nadir's irrup

tion.

"Abdallah found Delhi in a dreadful fituation, from having been fo long expofed to the defolating fury and pillage of the Mahrattas. His own exactions feverely added to its misfortunes; and fo great were they, and fo unparalleled the fufferings of the inhabitants that, in the paroxyfm of defpair, they flew to arms. More ftern than Nadir, because expofed to more imminent danger than his predeceffor, Abdallah gave orders for a general maffatre, which lafted without intermiffion for Seven days. At that period, when nearly a fourth part of the inhabitants had thus perished, and most of the public buildings were on fire, to add to the confufion, and increase the miferies of the wretched Delhians, immenfe bodies of Mahrattas, under Mulhar Row, had arrived in the environs, to fhare with Abdallah the spoils of the burning metropolis. Undaunted in danger, like his great ex ample, after checking the ravages of the fword and the conflagra tion, he marched out of the city, and gave them battle. After

"The miffing stones were afterwards found among the confifcated effects of a general officer put to death by his order. Me moirs of Khojeh Abdulkurreem, page 4."

a def

a defperate conflict fought about two cofs from Delhi, the Mah. rattas were defeated, and purfued for many leagues with great Daughter." P. 589.

After Abdallah's departure, it was again fubjugated to the devaltation of the Mahrattas, and its defolation became complete. The picture is not more highly coloured than is warranted by facts, fill in the recollection of many living.

"The Mahratta general foon after advanced, and took poffeffion of the imperial city, in which but a flender garrifon had been left by Abdallah, and which was again fubjected to all the horrors of former devaftation, with great aggravation. The Bhow himfelf was as mean as he was avaricious, and amidst his other enormities, tore down the cicling of the grand hall of audience, which was of maffy filver, and fent it to the mint, with all the utenfils, as chairs, tables, of that precious metal, which after fuch repeated fpoliation yet remained in that once auguft abode. All the branches of the royal family, as well as their dependents, were, alfo, meanly plundered of their property and jewels. But what pen can defcribe the unequalled fufferings of the poor Delhians themfelves, in this laft extremity of human wretchednefs. After being stript of all their little remaining property, and even their very clothes, by a fordid foe, to whom no fpecies of plunder came amifs, they were unmercifully fcourged with whips by their infenfible tormentors, and driven before them naked through the streets, a famifhed and frantic throng. Many perished under the hands of their oppreffors, and many more rushed voluntarily upon that death which is the laft refuge of agonizing humanity." P. 594..

The memorable battle of PANIPUT, in which the combined forces of all the great Mahommedan powers in India were brought into the field against the whole collected force of the Mahrattas, was fought on the 14th of January, 1761, when the latter were completely defeated, and Abdallah remained virtually emperor of Hindoftan, on whose throne he doubtless intended, but for diftractions nearer home, that diverted the current of his arms, to have placed his fon Timur Shah. For the details of this terrible conflict, in which half a million of human beings were arrayed in arms against each other, we muft, from want of room, again refer the readers to the volume where they will find them ftated from page 592 to 597. Shah Aulum, the real emperor, was at this period a voluntary exile from his capital, in an obscure corner of his nominal dominions, and a penfioner on the bounty of a foreign power. On the triumphant return of Sujah Dowlah, the nabob vizier, from the battle of Paniput,

he

he attached himself to his caufe, in his attack on Bahar and Bengal, but the name of the Great Mogul, no longer for midable, availed not the Vizier on the day of dreadful trial. The event of the battle of Bufcar, in which the nabob, at the head of 50,000 men, was defeated by Colonel Munro at the head of only 5000 men, taught the fallen monarch who were likely to be his firmeft protectors in future.

tors.

"The emperor, with this fresh proof of the invincibility of the English before him, and being once more the mafter of his own actions, again applied to the British general for that protection which it was now thought proper to grant him. He was ac cordingly received in the British camp with the honours due to his high rank, and attended Colonel Munro to Benares, where a handfome ftipend was allowed for his maintenance till the pleasure of the governor and council at Calcutta could be known concern. ing his future difpofal. In the mean time the war with Sujah Dowlah was vigorously profecuted, and with such unvaried fuccefs, that after having in vain called to his aid Rohillas and Mahrattas, the warriors on the Ganges, and the chiefs on the Jumna, he found himself stript of all his dominions, and was, in his turn, ultimately compelled to throw himself on the clemency of the vicGeneral Carnac, having refumed the fupreme command, received the fallen chief with respect; and in the end he was, from motives of found policy, reftored to all his territories, except the provinces of Corah and Allahabad, which, with a revenue of 22 jacks, or 220,000l. were conferred on the Mogul, and the caf tle of the latter place affigned him as a fuitable refidence. In addition to this allowance, on his majesty's iffuing firmauns, granting, in perpetuity, to the Company, the office of Duanny, or adminiftration of the revenues of Bengal, Bahar, and Oriffa, the British governour, Lord Clive, recently returned to India, engaged to pay into the royal treafury, as a kind of quit rent out of the revenues of Bengal, 26 lacks, or 260,cool. more, making a clear annual income of nearly half a million fterling; an income amply adequate, not only to his neceflities, but to the mainte nance of fome degree of regal fplendour.

"While, however, the emperor was thus liberally provided for, it cannot be denied but that the Company, in return, obtained effential advantages, which placed them, as foreigners, in a new and enviable fituation; for they were by these firmauns, and that grant, conftituted an efficient, permanent part of the Mogul empire, with the fovereign's authority, added to their own, for the accomplishment of all reasonable purposes of power, and aggrandifement, together with a clear annual revenue oF A MIL LION AND AN HALF STERLING, after all the charges of the civil. and military establishment were paid,” P. 603.